


Today's Youth

by amber_sword_lilies



Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Body Paint, Down to Personal Interpretation, Gen, Mainly a platonic view, Multi, but could be polyship if you squinted?, music festivals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 02:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16507505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amber_sword_lilies/pseuds/amber_sword_lilies
Summary: The boys attend a music festival at the height of summer. Reader tags along and shenanigans ensue.





	Today's Youth

“Watch where you swing that thing!”

“Very funny,” Gladio groaned, his tone thick with sarcasm. He stared ahead, completely deadpan, as Ignis fished another bottle of water from the heavy rucksack on his back.

You, however, were hiding from the impatient giant, snickering with Prompto about his remarkable mimicry. At first, you’d thought it had been Gladio, only to be proven wrong when the little blond had broken down in a fit of suppressed giggles.

“Look, dude, not my fault the wind picked up just as I started taking a leak.”

“You could’ve stopped!”

“Once it flows, there it goes, man!” Prompto raised his hands. “You didn’t need to stand so close!”

“We were in a packed layby and you almost flashed a car full of old ladies at that stop back in Duscae, you think I was gonna let you do that again? And other people need to piss from time to time.”

“I think that’s quite enough,” Ignis interrupted, passing out bottles of water and checking his watch.

“What are you talking about? Perfect metaphor for the entire trip here. Pissing into the wind,” Prompto said, sweeping his arms wide as if to hold the words between his hands.

Noctis shook his head with a scoffed laugh. As a group and finally in order, the five of you joined the crowds. The summer air was full of the smell of fresh popcorn and the cool, trampled grass beneath your boots. Skin prickling with heat, you sipped and followed the throngs through the gates. Duscae’s one and only music festival wasn’t to be missed; acts from every corner of Lucis made their pilgrimage each year. It was one of the few events that could lure Insomnians from the comfort and convenience of the city.

It had taken far longer to get to than it should’ve, but festival traffic was to be expected. Rather unexpectantly, all routes had been rearranged because of a catoblepas spooked by one of the sound tests, thus lengthening the trip by another three hours. Times like that made Ignis curse the Regalia’s svelte black interior. Exhausted, irritable and half-roasted alive, you’d all been relieved when the lush canopies of Duscaean forests had provided shade.

You made it through the gate without an issue, handing over your ticket in exchange for a deceptively strong ribbon around your wrist. Music carried above the thousands of voices from some far corner of the fields that had been set aside. Gladio was next, stalled by a bag check. He stood beside you and hung his sunglasses on his shirt, quickly bouncing texts back to Iris.

Five minutes later and the others still hadn’t joined.

“Hey, Gladio, where are they?”

He paused and straightened up to his full height. Easily scanning the heads, he spotted a shock of blond hair, that could only mean Prompto, bouncing thirty feet away.

“Found em.”

He visibly tensed at the sheer number of people around him. For all he was big and capable, the man sure did hate crowds. He’d been trained to. Crowds required extreme vigilance; they were the most dangerous place in terms of recognition and the potential for an attack. He squeezed his shoulders together in a desperate attempt to make himself smaller as he dodged and edged towards the younger boys. You followed, easily passing in his wake.

“Sunscreen, Noct?”

Noctis rolled his eyes heavily before looking at Ignis. He opened his mouth to reply but was met with a no-nonsense, unmoving tone.

“Yes, repeated applications are required. Especially in weather conditions such as these,” he said. He squeezed a blob into Noct’ outstretched hand and turned to a very distracted Prompto. “You too. We don’t want a repeat of last year.”

Oh last year. The year Prompto had ‘forgotten’ (refused) to put on sunscreen in a vain attempt to get a tan. He’d turned lobster red within two hours and spent the next few days peeling away from his angry shade of pink. Needless to say, he’d learned his lesson the hard way. Prompto took the bottle and began to smear himself with sunscreen.

Reunited and ready, you made your way through the various sections of the festival. You tried to walk past the mechanical bull, but with three competitive boys in tow, it proved difficult. Impossible, actually.

Gladio was thrown off within ten seconds, losing his bet and a shoe that flew dangerously close to your head. He kept his footing, at least. Noctis put up a fair fight, crediting it to years of fighting Gladio for repossession of his phone. He’d almost made the minute mark before being thrown against one of the inflatable walls, much to Gladio’s glee. You didn’t think your ribs could take much more laughter.

Then Prompto came along.

After getting his bearings, he held on with a vice grip. A minute and a half in and his legs tired. The controllers frown only deepened as Prompto flailed wildly, still holding fast to the leather strap. He came loose. He stood on wobbling legs as he left the ring, as ill-balanced as a new foal and shaking his head to rid himself of the dizziness.

“How’d he do?” Gladio asked, having returned from his trip to buy Ignis a coffee. A bet’s a bet after all.

“He hit two minutes. Dunno how but he did, somehow,” Noctis smiled, giving Prompto a friendly slap to the back. The blond jolted at the impact, still reeling from his experience. An eager grin spread across his face, only widening when he caught Gladio’s open mouthed stare.

“Huh. Didn’t think you had it in ya, blondie.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t recall that being part of the wager.”

Ignis glared at the small paper cup in Gladio’s hand. The shield let out a ragged sigh before offering his explanation.

“Iggy. It’s hot as Ifrits balls out here. This,” he said, pressing the cup into Ignis’ hand. “Is an Ebony sorbet.”

Green eyes narrowed at the dessert. He carved out a small morsel and perched it on the tiny plastic shovel. It had only just melted in his mouth when his eyebrow raised a fraction, pupils swelling as he stared down at the sorbet. He fixed on Gladio, who was wrestling out of his shirt. He held up the sorbet and pointed to it lightly with the fluorescent pink spoon.

“Where?”

“There!” Prompto chirped, fixing on a food stall at the end of the row. “Guys! C’mon!”

You just shook your head as the blond raced off. Ignis lagged behind, slightly fixated on his new obsession. You gave Gladio’s back a hearty pat.

“Well played. Now he’s never gonna drink hot coffee again.”

“Who drinks hot coffee on days like this? It’s like eating ice cream in winter; wrong,” Noctis frowned as he passed you, jogging to catch up to Prompto.

He tried. Just as he slipped through a group of people, pop came blaring from a stereo. The group suddenly took formation. Gladio shouldered past you, already bristling.

Then they began to dance.

“Gladio, wait up a second,” you said, grabbing his arm.

He took one more step and stopped. When you drew level with him, he was buzzing with changing energy. He’d barrelled forwards with intent, anger and the need to protect. His hard exterior cracked into an amused grin.

The Crown Prince of Lucis was stuck in a flash mob.

He had no idea what to do. Mortified and already beginning to blush, he feverishly searched for a way out. Ignis had banned warping; it was too obvious. Faced with no other option and too nervous to stand still, Noctis did something entirely out of character. He danced.

Initially it was awful. Completely out of time. Ignis had moved forwards in an attempt to rescue the Prince, but a laughing Gladio held him back. His huge torso shook as he leant on a lither shoulder. Ignis even began to smirk good-naturedly. Finally, Noctis’ years of formal dance training caught up with him and he managed to keep in time. He actually would’ve passed for a more inexperienced member of the group.

When the song ended, and the troop dissolved back into the looser crowds, Noctis was finally free. Gladio tried to hold in his recurring snorts of laughter, with little success. Deep blue eyes had just about shrunk down from their saucer-size when a bubbling laugh re-joined the group.

Prompto could barely string a sentence together, bright red as he clutched his sides.

“You-you…oh holy crap-I got all of it!” he wheezed, holding up his camera between bouts of breathless laughter. Noct’s eyes shot open again as he ran towards Prompto. The blond took off, racing towards one of the main stages.

After wrangling the group back together, the mission for dinner began. All determined to get different things, peace was reached when Ignis decided that a certain noodle stand was ‘the most reliable, as it had both quality ingredients and customisable options, thus pleasing everyone’. Prompto’s choice of an especially hot chilli garnish had made him run to an ice-cream truck and beg for relief with a swollen tongue. Noctis insisted that it served him right after opening the picnic in the car. The provisions Ignis had dutifully prepared the day before barely made it through Leide.

The grounds quietened as people made their way to the main stages. Bigger acts played later shows, and Noctis was determined to see his favourite band. The entire trip had been an early birthday present from the guys. Tagging along had been at their insistence. Summer was almost over, then they’d be cooped up in the city until spring. You were glad you’d accepted. Witnessing them together and acting their age for once had been a rare glimpse into the lives they could’ve had.

Today they were just four young men in a crowd.

As more and more people trekked to the bigger stage, Prompto flitted away from the group. After a few minutes of plodding over the mess of muddied, crushed grass, he came bouncing back. You were a few paces from the main group and trying to comfort a thoroughly embarrassed prince. You honestly thought the blond had started a joint cracking competition with Gladio. You were about to turn around to deliver your trademark neck pop when something was balanced carefully on your head. You reached to pull it off when a blur of colour raced past you to plant a similar item on Noctis.

Prompto was wearing at least half a dozen glow sticks on his wrists and neck that blurred whenever he lunged in his rapid movements. Having stopped, you turned to look at the other two. Ignis was sporting a tasteful number of pale blue bands on his wrists and helping Gladio to accent the feathers of his tattoo with some luminous paint. Gladio offered you a pen and continued to outline the beak of his eagle. Sensing the depth of Ignis’ focus, he planted a sneaky green dot on the advisor’s forehead.

Ignis pulled away from him slowly and straightened up, a firm sternness setting in his face.

“Third eye,” Gladio shrugged.

“I’m going to need more than three to cope with you lot,” Ignis broke into a small smile and shook his head.

Noctis was quick to pick him up on the offer. By the time Noct had finished with him, Ignis had a minimalist mask of green that outlined his sharper features; nose, jaw, cheekbones; and a swathe of dots pouring down the side of his neck. Prompto had taken the time to paint your face, assuring you that it was cute. Nothing could’ve been more adorable than him sticking out his tongue in concentration between giggles.

“Stop moving so damn much!” You laughed, trying to draw a smooth line over his taut, flushed cheeks as you returned the favour.

“It tickles, dude! I can’t help it!” he said, trying desperately to keep a straight face. You ended up dipping the end of his fringe in the paint, lighting him up with an electric blue that reflected in his eyes. Before he could argue, you dotted the end of his nose.

“It’ll wash out,” you shook your head at the blushing blond.

His eyes lingered over your shoulder, lighting up with all the youthful fun that belonged there. You turned to see. Thanks to Ignis’ skilled chef’s hands and Noct’s sheer intent, every last feather had at least one stroke of colour to it. The tattoo began with yellow at the bird’s head, before fading through orange and eventually red at the tips of the wings and tail. It rippled with his every move, glowing brighter as the light faded from the sky. He struck a few poses for Prompto’s camera before loosening into a deep chuckle.

The afterglow of the day was a hot red on the horizon. Under the blue of the evening, the air cooled and freshened. The hill descended towards the stage, lit and ready, with a half-decent supporting act playing to a growing crowd. Gladio hung back at the sight of hundreds of people, his heavy hand landing on Noctis’ shoulder.

“Not a good idea,” he shook his head. An apology was written in soft aurous eyes. It was more than his own fear; it was the reality of his position seeping back in. Prompto’s shoulders fell a little. You looked around before fixing on an oak tree, thick with it’s summer leaves. Ignis had caught on the same spot and nodded.

“I believe we have a solution,” he gave a pleased smile. The others followed his gaze and settled on the tree.

Within the minute, Noct and Prompto had raced towards the trunk and were hollering for the rest of you to hurry up. The tree clung to the top of a grassy knoll, overlooking both the stage and the slipping sunset behind it. The western sky was blushing with peach tones as the east deepened.  Gladio snorted a brief laugh before jogging ahead. Ignis continued to walk with you, catching up just as the crowd below screamed for the biggest band of the night.

“Man, could this get any better?” Prompto grinned, standing on his tiptoes to get a better view. He winced as a cramp threatened to start in his calf. “Well, I guess, seats would be nice.”

“I’m not going back for the chairs. You want em, you get em, Captain Pissypants.”

Prompto thought for a moment before making his decision in silence. He leant casually against the tree, eyeing a branch. After a silent nod to Noctis. A diversion was needed.

“Hey, Specs? Is that the usual bassist? He’s changed his hair…”

“I believe so,” Ignis began, peering down at the stage. “I wouldn’t be surprised, really. Unless they’ve-.”

The whoosh and fizzing of Noctis throwing a dagger and warping into the crown of the tree was enough to tell Ignis. The resigned expression he wore with exhaustion made Gladio snort. A pale arm reached down to Prompto and helped him up. The pair settled on a lower branch, legs swinging as they watched the show begin.

The first stars were unveiled by the deepening blue above. The air was fresh and cool, and the performance was incredible. It was an eternal moment; one that seemed timeless. Here you were, all of you, free and young together, as if there was nothing but this.


End file.
